Ninety-eight journalists have so far been arrested under Turkey’s State of Emergency declared on July 20, 2016, five days after the failed coup attempt of July 15. Seventy-six of those journalists were journalists who worked or wrote columns for newspapers and media outlets affiliated with the Fethullah Gülen Movement, which the Turkish government alleges is behind the coup.

The remaining 22 were from Kurdish media outlets; who have been subject to a heavy-handed treatmentby the country’s prosecutorial authorities since the State of Emergency.

State of Emergency rule, normally due to end in mid-October, was extended for another 90 days, and the government’s indiscriminate rage now seems to be directed at opposition and Kurdish news media. Most recent arrests of journalists took place not as part of the coup probe, but outside of it. For example, on 18 October, Sadık Demir, the owner of the Kurdish Radio Karacadağ and two former employees of the station, Mizgin Çay and Salih Erbekler, were arrested on charges of “terrorism propaganda” based on a program aired by the station.

Media outlets shut down

Nearly 2500 journalists have lost their jobs, 660 press cards were canceled, 45 newspapers, 15 magazines, 18 TV stations, 23 radio stations, 29 publishing houses and three news agencies have been shut down since the declaration of State of Emergency. Again, the most recent closures targeted Kurdish, left-wing and independent media. 13 of the 18 TV stations shut down were closed under cabinet decree on 30 September, nearly two months after the closure of the five stations allegedly associated with the coup. They included Kurdish, Alevi and independent radio stations. A television station for children was among them.

Those arrested outside the coup probe include Aslı Erdoğan, a celebrated writer and Necmiye Alpay, a foremost linguist. As part of the coup probe, well-known novelist Ahmet Altan was arrested along with his brother Mehmet Altan, a professor of economics. The two brothers were accused of having supported the coup, based on remarks they made on a television program, where they warned about the approaching dangers of authoritarianism. The court ruling for the arrest of Mehmet Altan reasoned that “he must have known about the coup in the making given his educational background, social standing and economic standing,” confirming complete disregard of due diligence in gathering of evidence in the judicial proceedings. The court expressed a similar opinion for Ahmet Altan. The panel of judges argued that the two men, given their social standing, must have known the coup was coming, although the Turkish president, the undersecretary of the National Intelligence Agency (MIT), the intelligence units of the National Police Department, or the Gendarmerie Command or the General Staff had not discover any warnings of the coup plot, at least by these institutions’ own accounts.

Those who have been arrested as part of the coup are also not given access to books or writing instruments; nor are they allowed to see their lawyers for more than an hour a week. Visits from friends and others are completely banned. They are also not allowed to receive or send letters.

More than 30,000 arrested in coup probe

In another recent development, Turkey’s Press Advertising Agency (BİK) regulations were changed to punish press outlets which refuse to fire journalists who are being tried under the country’s Counter Terrorism Law (TMK). According to the changes, official advertising to any news outlet that employs a journalist who is being tried on terrorism related charges will be cut off, unless the employee is fired from the media organization within five days after the start of legal action against the employee.

Censorship of the media is also widespread. For example, news stories reporting on a recent Gmail hack of Turkey’s Energy Minister Berat Albayrak, who is also President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law, were blocked by the country’s Telecommunications Agency (TİB). Currenlty, 114,582 websites are blockedin Turkey. Internet blackouts and throttling are also common, especially after incidents such as terrorist attacks.

Certainly, Turkey’s post-coup crackdown doesn’t start or end with the press. As part of the wider coup investigation, more than 32,000 people have been arrested. According to government figures, over 70,000 people have been taken into custody as part of the investigation. 22,305 of those released were let go on probation, meaning they can’t travel abroad and they are required to check in with their local police station at regular intervals. More than 100,000 officials, including members of the judiciary, the police force and even school teachers, have been suspended or dismissed. At least 74,000 passports have been canceled under Cabinet Decrees, including passports held by the family members of those suspected of involvement in the coup – now a legal measure under the Turkey’s State of Emergency rule.

Free elections?

Recent developments indicate that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will likely opt for holding a referendum to introduce a presidential system in Turkey in April next year, followed by early general elections in the summer.

In the current situation in Turkey, holding a free and fair election is an impossibility. Statements and speeches from opposition leaders, particularly those from People’s Democratic Party (HDP) leader Selahattin Demirtaş, are never reported in the mainstream media, most of which are directly owned by businessmen who have specifically bought media outlets to appease and remain in the good graces of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

With most critical media outlets shut down, voters will not have access to crucial information about any of the issues in a country where poverty, corruption and a military campaign against Kurds are ending lives. Credit rating agencies have downgraded Turkey’s rating to junk; although the government has dismissed these moves as a conspiracy against the country; defiantly maintaining that the economy is in good shape. The country about to be dragged into war in Iraq – not to mention the fallout from Turkish involvement in Syria – with Turkey insisting that it be part of the operation against the Islamic State in Mosul despite Iraq’s irritation. There are other issues that will likely have longer-term effects, such as the government’s campaign to effectively finish off Turkey’s best schools, and violence against women remains rampant. Environmental issues, such as water safety, increasingly under threat by the government’s mega construction projects, also pose long-term risks to the nation’s future.

Turkey, now at a crossroads of regime change and on the brink of war has no media left to report on any of the issues. Any election that Turkey holds in the near future will not be free or fair; Turkey’s State of Emergency practices have effectively eliminated that possibility.

After the failed coup attempt of July 15, Turkey increasingly looks like a dystopian state; suspects have already died in prison and most of the country’s independent media, including a Kurdish-language TV network for children, have been shut down.

The government’s initial response to the coup attempt was to declare a State of Emergency on July 20, which authorities said would help with the investigation. The government has accused a movement led by the religious cleric Fethullah Gülen to be behind the failed coup. However, many now voice concerns that the State of Emergency has turned into a witch-hunt against all critics of the country’s powerful President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

More than 32,000 people have been arrested under State of Emergency according to government statistics. Over 70,000 people have been taken into custody as part of the investigation. According to data from the pro-government Sabah daily, 22,305 of those released were let go on probation, meaning they can’t travel abroad and they are required to check in with their local police station at regular intervals. More than 100,000 officials, including members of the judiciary, the police force and even school teachers, have been suspended or dismissed, and now there is a Wikipedia page dedicated to Turkey’s post-coup purge.

Most of the arrests allegedly take place in the absence of evidence against the suspects. For example, Mehmet Altan, a professor who was arrested for appearing on a television program affiliated with the Gülen movement, was told by a court that “he must have known about the coup given his level of education and social status” in the official ruling explaining the rationale for his arrest.

126 journalists and writers are currently in prison; excluding those who are being kept in detention centers awaiting an arraignment to decide their fate. Under State of Emergency, the initial detention period before a suspect is released or charged was extended to 30 days from 48 hours. No contact with lawyers is allowed in the first five days of this period, raising concern about maltreatment and torture. There have been reports of people being kept up to 28 days in detention centers without being charged.

These concerns have already some sound basis: A teacher who was arrested in the coup probe was found dead in his cell; with authorities blaming the death on a heart attack. A prosecutor arrested in the coup probe was found to have killed himself, although his family says he would never end his own life as a devout Muslim. Allegations of maltreatment and torture are rampant, and head of the Prisons Subcommittee of the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission Mehmet Metiner’s recent statement that “Military law is in place for the coup plotters; I will blow their heads off,” offers no indication that the rest of the world can rest assured about humane treatment of those under arrest.

State of Emergency powers are increasingly used to silence any opposition. State of Emergency regulations are used extensively outside the coup probe to persecute Kurds, leftists and Alevis; a religious minority in Turkey. In early October, the government shut down 24 television and radio stations that represented left-wing, Kurdish or Alevi segments. Many writers, including celebrated author Aslı Erdoğan, from the Kurdish press have been imprisoned since the start of State of Emergency rule.

Many websites have also been shut down under Turkey’s State of Emergency. Most recently, Turkish authorities blocked access to Google Drive and similar services where hundreds of thousands of people store their data, in response to a scandal in which the gmail account of Berat Albayrak, Turkey’s Energy Minister and also President Erdoğan’s son-in-law, was hacked.

Dozens of teachers who belong to the left-wing union Eğitim-Sen have also been dismissed. Seven of them were put under arrest in early October on terror-related charges.

With the State of Emergency being prolonged for at least another three months and state officials adamantly stating that more arrests will be made in the following months, the darkest days for the opposition in the authoritarian country might yet still be ahead.

1980, Amnesty International campaign poster about human rights in Turkey.

A month after the Turkish army failed to overthrow the country’s democratically elected president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an enormous and unprecedented witch-hunt against all potential dissenters is overrunning the country. A general atmosphere of hysteria has seized the Turkish press where most recently accounts of shady secret witnesses -called “confessionists”- are flourishing.

In the past month since the coup attempt of July 15 against Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, followed by a massive crackdown on individuals believed to be affiliated with Fethullah Gülen, the US based Muslim cleric whom Turkey accuses of having masterminded the coup, as well as on the country’s Kurds and left-wing groups, pro-government newspapers and television stations mostly ignored ongoing concerns about fair trials and rights violations, but rather fixed their focus on the alleged role of the US in the coup.

A major theme in post-coup coverage is extensive testimony delivered by former followers of Gülen who have turned into informants (called “confessionists” in Turkish) as well as testimony by some of the suspects in the coup investigation. The ex-Gülenist informants along with government-aligned strategy experts, were given maximum air time sharing sometimes what seems to be very dubious information about the Fethullah Gülen organization, such as Sabah suggesting it is linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Pro-government newspapers and visual media also shared testimony from “secret witnesses” delivered during the investigation into the July 15 coup attempt, although an İzmir court ruled for a partial gag order on broadcasting and printing testimony from the investigation, even on social media.

But Turkey’s nascent and refreshingly promising alternative media — mostly online news sites and Twitter accounts — have been more cautious and critical of the aftermath of Turkey’s darkest night. The details of Turkey’s widening purge in both public and private institutions were captured in great detail by alternative media, as in Diken‘s reporting on detention warrants being issued for all businessmen who joined a standing ovation after listening to a speech by the former head of the Gülen-affiliated businessmen’s group TUSKON.

These alternative media channels have also been crucial in keeping record of ongoing rights violations, the possibility of the post-coup investigation turning into a witch-hunt and attempts to keep full records on detentions, arrests or incidents of removals from office. The only columns and opinion pieces critical of the government’s post-coup practices also came from these websites.

For example, Diken writer Levent Gültekin in an article sarcastically titled “Should we hang Gülenists or put them in gas chambers?” wrote that he had always been critical of the Gülen Movement, even at a time when its former allies — the AKP government — didn’t let anyone voice any criticism against the movement. Gültekin said he had no idea that movement was potentially as dangerous as it has proved itself to be, and asked one question addressed to the Turkish Government, “I don’t understand what the government is trying to do. Really, are you aware of what you are doing? We have a humongous problem dragging the country into ruins. But you [the government]are committing such vulgar deeds, completely devoid of justice and conscience; everything you do is working to turn the problem into a gangrene, rather than solving it. People have spouses, uncles, aunts who have links to the [Gulen] Movement in one form or another. Looking at this this way, we are talking about millions of individuals. By demonizing those people who have somehow believed and followed the Movement, by condemning them to starvation and poverty and creating even larger wounds in society, where do you think will you lead us?”

Thecolumnist Murat Belge, in a T24 article about the practice of removing civilian office holders or confiscating their property under decrees having the force of law, sanctioned under Turkey’s State of Emergency rules. “Please explain, how can one remove a civil servant from office based on a black list? “ Belge wrote that the policy of “sorting out” the suspects is a grave mistake, which has resulted in the removal of tens of thousands of public servants, military officers, tens of thousands of civilians, and the closure of thousands of associations, student dormitories, hospitals, schools and other facilities. He further wrote, “Initially, you should have found at most 100 people [responsible for the coup attempt], and if further action was needed, this could have been done by court orders. The others would be tied to those 100 people. I think currently hundreds of thousands are being accused [of involvement in the coup], and as such, you are fighting the entire nation!”

These websites have been the only channels where comments and opinions from opposition politicians, including the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) — Turkey’s only Kurdish party in Parliament which has been excluded from Turkey’s post-coup detenté between the government and oppositions — were given voice.

Online website Diken has been trying to keep track of all the detentions, arrests and purges under the heading “The Coup Attempt,” Jiyan and Evrenselhave been reporting extensively on detentions and arrests of journalists. Kurdish newspapers, TV stations and news agencies which have also been targets of Turkey’s State of Emergency with dozens of Kurdish reporters detained, the Kurdish newspaper Gundemshuttered, and some Kurdish journalists arrested since the declaration of the State of Emergency on July 20, have also been running reports about rights violations committed under state of emergency.

1980, Amnesty International campaign poster about human rights in Turkey. (Both poster and caption from International Boulevard).

A month after the Turkish army failed to overthrow the country’s democratically elected president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an enormous and unprecedented witch-hunt against all potential dissenters is overrunning the country. A general atmosphere of hysteria has seized the Turkish press where most recently accounts of shady secret witnesses -called “confessionists”- are flourishing.

In the past month since the coup attempt of July 15 against Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, followed by a massive crackdown on individuals believed to be affiliated with Fethullah Gülen, the US based Muslim cleric whom Turkey accuses of having masterminded the coup, as well as on the country’s Kurds and left-wing groups, pro-government newspapers and television stations mostly ignored ongoing concerns about fair trials and rights violations, but rather fixed their focus on the alleged role of the US in the coup.

A major theme in post-coup coverage is extensive testimony delivered by former followers of Gülen who have turned into informants (called “confessionists” in Turkish) as well as testimony by some of the suspects in the coup investigation. The ex-Gülenist informants along with government-aligned strategy experts, were given maximum air time sharing sometimes what seems to be very dubious information about the Fethullah Gülen organization, such as Sabah suggesting it is linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Pro-government newspapers and visual media also shared testimony from “secret witnesses” delivered during the investigation into the July 15 coup attempt, although an İzmir court ruled for a partial gag order on broadcasting and printing testimony from the investigation, even on social media.

But Turkey’s nascent and refreshingly promising alternative media — mostly online news sites and Twitter accounts — have been more cautious and critical of the aftermath of Turkey’s darkest night. The details of Turkey’s widening purge in both public and private institutions were captured in great detail by alternative media, as in Diken‘s reporting on detention warrants being issued for all businessmen who joined a standing ovation after listening to a speech by the former head of the Gülen-affiliated businessmen’s group TUSKON.

These alternative media channels have also been crucial in keeping record of ongoing rights violations, the possibility of the post-coup investigation turning into a witch-hunt and attempts to keep full records on detentions, arrests or incidents of removals from office. The only columns and opinion pieces critical of the government’s post-coup practices also came from these websites.

For example, Diken writer Levent Gültekin in an article sarcastically titled “Should we hang Gülenists or put them in gas chambers?” wrote that he had always been critical of the Gülen Movement, even at a time when its former allies — the AKP government — didn’t let anyone voice any criticism against the movement. Gültekin said he had no idea that movement was potentially as dangerous as it has proved itself to be, and asked one question addressed to the Turkish Government, “I don’t understand what the government is trying to do. Really, are you aware of what you are doing? We have a humongous problem dragging the country into ruins. But you [the government]are committing such vulgar deeds, completely devoid of justice and conscience; everything you do is working to turn the problem into a gangrene, rather than solving it. People have spouses, uncles, aunts who have links to the [Gulen] Movement in one form or another. Looking at this this way, we are talking about millions of individuals. By demonizing those people who have somehow believed and followed the Movement, by condemning them to starvation and poverty and creating even larger wounds in society, where do you think will you lead us?”

The columnist Murat Belge, in a T24 article about the practice of removing civilian office holders or confiscating their property under decrees having the force of law, sanctioned under Turkey’s State of Emergency rules. “Please explain, how can one remove a civil servant from office based on a black list? “ Belge wrote that the policy of “sorting out” the suspects is a grave mistake, which has resulted in the removal of tens of thousands of public servants, military officers, tens of thousands of civilians, and the closure of thousands of associations, student dormitories, hospitals, schools and other facilities. He further wrote, “Initially, you should have found at most 100 people [responsible for the coup attempt], and if further action was needed, this could have been done by court orders. The others would be tied to those 100 people. I think currently hundreds of thousands are being accused [of involvement in the coup], and as such, you are fighting the entire nation!”

These websites have been the only channels where comments and opinions from opposition politicians, including the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) — Turkey’s only Kurdish party in Parliament which has been excluded from Turkey’s post-coup detenté between the government and oppositions — were given voice.

Online website Diken has been trying to keep track of all the detentions, arrests and purges under the heading “The Coup Attempt,” Jiyan and Evrensel have been reporting extensively on detentions and arrests of journalists. Kurdish newspapers, TV stations and news agencies which have also been targets of Turkey’s State of Emergency with dozens of Kurdish reporters detained, the Kurdish newspaper Gundem shuttered, and some Kurdish journalists arrested since the declaration of the State of Emergency on July 20, have also been running reports about rights violations committed under state of emergency.

Photo: former Zaman columnist Şahin Alpay (72), who was arrested in the coup probe under a highly questionable court decision

The entire world has been watching Turkey closely since the night of 15 July, the night of a heinous coup attempt that left hundreds, both civilians and police officers, dead and thousands wounded. To investigate the networks and people behind the failed coup, on July 23 the country declared a Sate of Emergency, which will last at least 90 days. Few weeks after the coup, it looks increasingly likely that the authorities will abuse the Sate of Emergency conditions in place.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as well as other government officials have accused Fethullah Gülen, an Islamic cleric in self-exile in the US, and his wide network of followers in Turkey to be behind the coup attempt.

So far 42 journalists have been arrested as part of the investigation into the coup attempt. Almost all of them have worked or wrote for Zaman, the flagship of the Gülen movement.

The government’s accusations against its former allies seem to have a reasonably sound basis and foreign dignitaries are also starting to acknowledge this possibility. However, the Turkish president’s long-standing and increasing authoritarianism and his low credibility levels have created the image that State of Emergency was declared only to serve the government’s own purpose of purging critics.

The detentions and arrests of journalists that came after the failed coup might indeed mean that the State of Emergency conditions are not just for investigating the failed coup, but also for intimidating critics into silence. It appears that the authorities are disregarding basic principles of law such as due process and the presumption of innocence, but instead, rounding up people to try and gather evidence against them.

Concerns about journalists

Among the 42 journalists arrested so far in the investigation are Şahin Alpay and Lale Kemal, two former Zaman columnists, who had no links to the Fethullah Gülen movement.

Human rights activist and lawyer Orhan Kemal Cengiz, who also wrote for Zaman, together with some other Gülen-affiliated journalists, was briefly detained, questioned and released on an international travel ban. Additionally, officials have so far failed to produce convincing evidence that any of the other journalists who might have been associated with the movement in the past knew of the coup plot.

Holding people in prison without any solid evidence and based only on affiliation with the movement is unacceptable. Even the country’s president, whom the coup apparently sought to overthrow, has said he supported “this structure with good intentions” in the past. He has asked for forgiveness from God for contributing to Gülen-network’s members’ ascent inside the state and society.

In what was an unabashed display of riding roughshod over basic principles of law, the judges who ruled for the arrest of Şahin Alpay and six other journalists stated among the reasons for such ruling the fact that Ekrem Dumanlı, the editor-in-chief of Zaman, has left the country. The court further “reasoned” that the columnists should have known about the coup plot, citing a prior investigation and charges against Dumanlı. P24 has also heard of unconfirmed allegations from lawyers that they are being pressured into abandoning their arrested clients.

P24 has been keeping detailed logs of the detentions and arrests of journalists that came as part of the coup probe. Hundreds of media organizations have also been shut down since the coup attempt. Outside the coup probe, Kurdish journalists have been arrested under State of Emergency conditions.

There are also reports of seemingly arbitrary cancellations of passports, deportations of foreign journalists and even harassment of the relatives of some of the people who have been detained in the organization.

Pressure on families

Another worrying development has been serious allegations of harassment of suspects’ families. Earlier, Tarik Korocu, the son of former Zaman columnist Bülent Korucu – who is wanted in the investigation – had claimed that police had detained his mother hostage. Korucu’s wife Hacer Korucu was put under arrest on 9 August, and authorities have been mum on the charges against her. Tarık Korucu said she had been arrested for attending activities organized by the Fethullah Gülen community in the past. He has also claimed that the family was told openly that she would be released if Bülent Korucu turns himself in.

Daughter of Şahin Alpay, Elvan Alpay, recently announced her passport was confiscated at the Atatürk Airport, with officials offering no formal explanation; another troubling sign that there might be systematic intimidation policies targeting journalist families.

Detentions and arrests of Kurdish journalists

Outside the coup probe, many Kurdish journalists have been detained or arrested since the start of State of Emergency conditions.

On 10 August, Şermin Soydan, a reporter for the Kurdish DİHA news agency, appeared before a court facing life in prison for reporting on a secret operation by security forces. Soydan was taken into police custody on 14 May, before the State of Emergency, in Hakkari. The court delayed her hearing to a later time in September, and she will remain arrested until then.

There are currently 76 journalists in prison in Turkey, pending trial or convicted for their journalism. There are dozens who are behind bars, waiting for an arraignment, and at least 40 others for whom detention warrants have been issued.

Even without looking at specific cases, there is significant grounds for extreme concern regarding detentions of journalist under State of Emergency rules: detainees aren’t allowed to see their lawyers in the first five days of their detention, which also means keeping the door open for maltreatment and torture. Under the State of Emergency, detention period has been extended to an unacceptable 30 days. For example, an editor for Haberdar, an online news portal, who was detained on 24 July still hasn’t been referred to court.

Media and human rights groups are also gravely concerned about the health situation of older columnists and some younger journalists who are known to have serious health conditions.

If Turkey opts to use the coup probe as an opportunity to further crack down on free speech, instead of conducting a proper and serious investigation to international standards of fair trial and justice, it will undermine the investigation. Turkey should stop the practice of jailing journalists without due process if it wants to reverse the trend of declining media freedom and if it truly wants to ensure that a coup attempt never happens again.

People – who run the risk of being thrown into prison any time on charges of trying to undermine our government – often say that our Supreme Leader has a lot of fear.

According to this, our Supreme Leader’s only motivation now, is fear. He is doing all that he does out of fear. For example, he is going after the academics who signed a peace declaration condemning atrocities perpetrated by the Turkish state in the southeast, because he is too fearful.

He is paranoid that even the most valued aide might one day turn against him. He is playing in his mind constantly a replay of the impending act of betrayal that might come from anyone at any time. All the sycophants and yes-men surrounding him, his slavish advisers, obedient deputies, servile bureaucrats, his businessmen cronies, even the closest members of his family…their unquestioning obedience..all these mean nothing to him. People say our Supreme Leader is being consumed by the paranoia that his Empire might collapse because of one traitor; that he is losing sleep at night fearing that just one man or woman can bring all of this down.

The same people claim his fears are not unfounded. Levent Gültekin, for example, recently wrote in an article he penned for the Turkish-language alternative news-site Diken that he knew that Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputies tend to talk very differently behind closed doors than they do publicly. They are worried, deeply.

“I know what you think about where the country is headed; I know what words you speak behind closed doors; even if our people don’t.

When you are in the company of friends, you speak about the kind of disaster the country is being dragged into. You tell your close friends and family that ‘you can’t get any sleep at night.’”

But do they really? How does he know? If all this is true, then why are AKP deputies going on living this lie?

In the new Turkey, paranoia and fear are certainly not reserved for the mighty alone.. Understandably, critics have reasons to fear, such as potentially being locked behind bars, loss of jobs, lack of financial security..etc. But the new atmosphere is breeding a thick aura of distrust between ordinary people as well.

There are many questions, and not good ones, that we are compelled to ask daily.

If AKP deputies know that Turkey is being dragged into hell, then why are they doing this? Do the voters, AKP voters specifically, also know?

People speak of their conversations with pro-AKP cab drivers. Do these AKP supporters really mean what they say, or are they like the AKP deputies? “Now it is the people who are in power. This is why you don’t like the new regime,” they say. But do they believe it?

They are shutting down websites, cutting access, and more importantly, they are actually erasing things from the Internet, by force or by other means. They call this “on-line reputation management.” Could it possibly work? Do things just evaporate from people’s memories as well? Do people really not remember? Will they be able to destroy digital evidence of the voice recordings as well? Can reality really be this Orwellian; this convenient for power holders? Has it always been that way?

Surely, the boot-licking pro-government media; their columnists, since they are the ones who doctor most of the government’s policies to look good in newsbulletins printed on glossy paper, also know what’s going on. They must. We have an idea of how much they are paid.

It is impossible to guess who might be a government supporter in any public setting; and sadly now it is good to know. They are taking people away from their homes in the middle of the night for “insulting the president,” just for sharing a tweet. Can anyone on your Facebook friend list be a government snitch? Could something you share or say be used against you in a court one day?

When there is a fight on a public transportation vehicle, when somebody says something, it is hard to discern what they mean. Are they really talking about giving up that seat? Do they mean something else; something more political, a disguised show of ‘being on the side of the government’? If they are on the side of the new regime, do they really believe everything they are told, or are they just “faking it” like the AKP deputies?

A woman called into a very popular live show, the kind the dreamy masses like, to tell what’s going on in the Southeast; begged people to wake up. “Children shouldn’t die,” she said. The host agreed, on air. Later he had to apologize. Did all that really happen? Doesn’t everyone know what’s really going on? Prosecutors are now going after both the caller and the show host. Don’t they know how unreal all this is?

At the hairdresser.. Is the manicure girl one of them, or is she one of us? Surely, she can’t be not bothered by all of this. She said “I really like Germany.” What does that mean? Does she want to leave the country? She can’t be happy. Or is it a bait?

Who is a true believer? Who is a fake? Does it really matter if they all say the same thing? Would the true believers turn if the others spoke up one day? Is that Erdoğan’s worst fear?

Could it be that at least some of the voters, the sycophants, the Erdoğan-lovers really believe any of the egregiously obvious lies blaring from the TV? Of course not, it can’t be. They all have something in for them. Then so, why are we living in this manufactured bubble of never-ending government propaganda? Who is it for? If people know and still support the AKP, do we really need it?